A guide has been published by Sourcing Journal Online and TradeCard to help supply chain executives in the apparel industry take advantage of sourcing locales in the Latin America as they pursue strategic initiatives requiring faster turnaround and more reliable delivery of goods. “We see strong growth in the Americas in the next three years [...]
A guide has been published by Sourcing Journal Online and TradeCard to help supply chain executives in the apparel industry take advantage of sourcing locales in the Latin America as they pursue strategic initiatives requiring faster turnaround and more reliable delivery of goods.
“We see strong growth in the Americas in the next three years as the global economy bounces back. Latin America is fast becoming a major sourcing destination for savvy brands and retailers based in the U.S. and Canada,” said Patrick Lamson-Hall, managing editor of Sourcing Journal Online.
From 2009 to 2011, total volume of apparel, footwear and household goods sourced to the United States from Latin America grew by 17 percent, while volume from China has stagnated and begun to fall in some categories.
“Brands and retailers are taking a holistic approach to sourcing and leveraging different regions to counter rising pressures from consumers, costs and trade regulations,” said Ted Barba, vice president of business development for TradeCard in the Americas. “The quality of goods in the Americas, and the infrastructure to deliver these goods, has drastically improved in recent years.
However, each country poses a series of opportunities and risks. It’s important to do your homework and have a clear understanding of how Latin America fits into your business strategy before making a major investment.”
Click here to download the white paper, Sourcing in Latin America: Strategies.
Source: Tradecard.com
With a free trade agreement between Canada and Colombia now in place, there are more reasons than ever to consider this fast growing country with the world’s third-largest Spanish-speaking population. Although it has had a troubled past Colombia is very different from its fellow Andean nations of Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia with their populist and sometimes [...]
With a free trade agreement between Canada and Colombia now in place, there are more reasons than ever to consider this fast growing country with the world’s third-largest Spanish-speaking population.
Although it has had a troubled past Colombia is very different from its fellow Andean nations of Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia with their populist and sometimes erratic governments. It is closer to another Andean nation, Peru, which is forging ahead with pro-business, pro-development policies and is leaving the recent era of disorder behind it.
Don’t expect that the cost of doing business in Colombia will be a big advantage even if it is a developing nation. The cost of fuel is only slightly lower than in Canada and office rents are only 20% lower there. Monthly housing costs are very close to those in Canada and industrial space is almost on par. A recent article in The Economist magazine noted that the costs of Colombia’s deficient infrastructure – which came 79th of 139 countries’ networks ranked by the World Economic Forum – are massive. Moving goods from inland cities to a port can sometimes be more expensive than shipping them from the port to a market halfway around the world.
As for taxes, the nation has slashed its business and personal tax rates and steps have been taken to simplify the tax code but recent governments have failed to restrain spending and differential rates and loopholes continue to complicate paying taxes. You can get more information on taxation from the World Bank Group’s Doing Business site.
Export Development Canada publishes a useful guide to Colombia and other Andean nations. It outlines industrial sectors where there are opportunities for Canadian businesses, including mining, oil and gas, power generation, construction, environmental equipment and services, and government sales.
Colombia maintains 40 free-trade zones which attract overseas investors with 15% tax rates and a 40% tax deduction for fixed assets as well as exemption from customs duties and value-added taxes on imported materials. In addition there are investment incentives for hotel and ecotourism services; late-yield crops; medical and software products; Aeolian, biomass and agricultural energy generation; and publishing. Get more information from the Colombian government.
Importers should know whether their products need to conform to technical standards laid down by the Colombian Technical Standards Institute. Obtain a “certificate of conformity” from an accredited testing laboratory before selling goods in Colombia.
For more detailed information on doing business in Colombia, a comprehensive and up-to-date guidebook published by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu can be downloaded here.
(CBC News) Canada has struck a free trade deal with Honduras. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement Friday during a visit to the Central American nation. But the deal is controversial. Honduras was kicked out of the Organization of American States after a military coup ousted the country’s leftist president in 2009. It has [...]
(CBC News)
Canada has struck a free trade deal with Honduras. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement Friday during a visit to the Central American nation.
But the deal is controversial. Honduras was kicked out of the Organization of American States after a military coup ousted the country’s leftist president in 2009. It has since been re-admitted after it held elections and allowed former president Manuel Zelaya to return. Harper is the first foreign leader to visit since the re-admission.
Critics say the country’s human rights record is still dismal and it has one of the highest crime rates in the world. Canadian mining companies have also been blamed for health problems among indigenous populations in Honduras. […]
Two-way trade between Canada and Honduras was worth $192 million in 2010. Canadian exports to Honduras were $40.8 million, while Canada imported $151.2 million worth of goods from the country, which is one of the poorest in the region.
(Government of Canada – Prime Minister’s Office) Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the launch of negotiations to modernize the existing free trade agreement between Canada and Costa Rica, as well as the signing of an air transportation agreement and a tax information exchange agreement between the two countries. The announcements were made during a working [...]
(Government of Canada – Prime Minister’s Office)
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the launch of negotiations to modernize the existing free trade agreement between Canada and Costa Rica, as well as the signing of an air transportation agreement and a tax information exchange agreement between the two countries. The announcements were made during a working visit with President Laura Chinchilla in San José, Costa Rica.
“Canada and Costa Rica enjoy excellent bilateral relations. In fact, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Canadian Embassy in San José,” said the Prime Minister. “By removing trade barriers, facilitating air travel between our countries and working together to combat tax evasion, the measures announced today will lead to new opportunities and stronger economies for both Canadians and Costa Ricans.”
The announcements will have far-reaching benefits for Canada and Costa Rica. Most notably: Negotiations towards the modernization of the Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement will aim to accelerate the elimination of tariffs for agricultural and industrial goods, increase market access and broaden the agreement to cover other areas, such as cross-border trade in services, including financial services.
The air transportation agreement will further strengthen ties between Canada and Costa Rica by providing airlines with flexibility in terms of routes, frequency of service and pricing, which will in turn promote travel, trade and economic growth in each country. The agreement also marks another step towards the successful implementation of the Blue Sky Policy with countries in Central America.
The Tax Information Exchange Agreement will create the legal framework that will enable Canada and Costa Rica to exchange relevant tax information. By doing so, it will help Canadian and Costa Rican authorities combat international tax evasion, enforce domestic tax laws and protect the integrity of their tax systems.
Each of the measures announced today is consistent with Canada’s Engagement in the Americas strategy, which aims to promote prosperity at home and in countries of the Western hemisphere.
Simplifying delivery to export markets with “near shoring”, beware it’s not all it’s cracked up to be
(DC Velocity – James A. Cooke)
Companies that engage in “near shoring” – manufacturing in countries that are close to target markets – may think they have it made. After all, they’ve cut transit times, reduced transportation costs, and improved their products’ speed to market. But those that shift production from Asia to Latin America will find there’s more to the story. While the distances may be less daunting, they’re likely to confront a whole new set of transportation challenges.
For starters, there’s infrastructure. Few Central and South American countries boast the kind of transportation infrastructure found in the United States. That means that with some exceptions (like Mexico or Colombia, where manufacturing sometimes takes place in the country’s interior), a company looking to locate a plant in Latin America will likely find its options limited to sites near an airport or seaport.
Another potential complication is access to suppliers. While companies that offshore operations to China have little difficulty finding domestic sources of parts and materials, that’s not the case in most of Latin America. In order to run an assembly operation in that part of the world, a company will most likely have to bring in parts and components via ocean.
Despite these obstacles, Latin American countries continue to generate interest from companies interested in pursuing the near-shoring option. Four nations in particular are drawing attention these days: Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Brazil. What follows is a capsule look at the transportation climate in each of these countries. Read more here.
